I

Life away from war

The calm waves brushed against the shoreline, the gentle breeze of the tranquil winds blowing through the seaside city of Bodhum. Bodhum lies around the southern part of Cocoon, on an island far away from the mainland. Bodhum's lovely hotels, beaches, and peaceful nature, make it a great vacation spot for many outsiders.

A single man was walking along the beaches of Bodhum, he wore a generic, white guardian corps jacket over a brown turtleneck shirt, his legs clad with tan cotton pants, brown, leather boots that extended halfway up to his knees. Upon his left shoulder lie a green, metal shoulder pad, it was standard across the members of Guardian Corps. His shoulder pad had two orange lights in the form of wide lines that stretched from one side to the other, they signified his rank as a Lieutenant. The emblem just below that was a depiction of a shield with an arrowhead at the bottom and four blades coming off from the side of the arrowhead atop the depiction is four feather-like objects extending at the top. All the objects extending from a center ring in the middle of the depiction. Above it are three random lines, that appear to be letters, but really aren't, they were symbols that stood for protection, this seal was the official seal of the Knight Captain, Advar; who led the division.

He had his hands in his pockets, tucked away as he passed through the beach of Bodhum, kicking a pebble along the coastline and watching the civilians enjoy a leisure day. While Bodhum may have been peaceful, the mainland was in a huge war. The effects of the war between Sanctum forces and the Liberators seemed so distant to the tranquil lifestyle of the Bodhum people, enjoying families and playing with friends in the ocean water.

As the orange haired man looked over his hands still in his pockets, a slight smile crossed his face as he saw everyone enjoying their day with family, friends and the like. Soon he arrived at a house that sat over the ocean water, a small walkway that led to the front door. He walked halfway up the ramp, his boots clanking as they met the metallic surface of the ramp. His arms found a resting spot over the railing as he gazed out to the ocean with a slight smile.

"Alex!" The sound of a woman's happy voice was heard as it was carried through the air.

The orange haired man turned his gaze to his left, body unmoving as he removed his vision from the rolling waves of the ocean. As he looked at the source of the voice his smile deepened as he stood up straight, walking quickly over to the woman standing on the shore.

"Mom!" he shouted back, making his way over to her and wrapping his arms around the blonde haired woman, embracing her in a hug.

As Alex wrapped his arms around the woman, he smiled and looked in her eyes, she had blue eyes, just like him. She wore a basic blue shirt and a small jacket over that to keep her warm, pants that covered her legs as she sat there with a smile. Her golden blonde hair that extended just past her shoulders gently swaying with the ocean breeze. The hair only looked so much nicer as the light created by the Fal'cie Phoenix was reflected off the hair.

"Alex, it's good to see you." She said as she released the hug.

"It's good to see you too mom." He looked behind her, two other figures coming over to see them. An man about the same age as the woman standing by Alex, he seemed to be in his later thirties and had the same orange hair as Alex, beside him was a small blonde girl, no older than nine years old as she tugged on the mans jacket.

"Well, well if it isn't Lieutenant Issac, how are you doing son?" He asked with a smile. The young girl merely jumped up and down, still tugging at her father's jacket.

"Daddy, daddy, it's big brother Alex!" She repeated before running over to Alex and giving him a hug, she was very short and so she wrapped her arms around his legs, holding her head to his waist with a smile as she closed her eyes.

"Hey there little sis, how are you doing?" He then smiled and hugged her back. "Wow thanks guys, this really means a lot to have you all here." He smiled, lifting up his little sister, holding her as she giggled cutely.

Alex looked around for a second and frowned, turning to his mother a second later. "Where's Radiant, I thought he would be here?" He asked curiously, seeing no sign of the man he was looking for.

"He'll be here, he just got caught up in something, but he would never miss his little brother's party." Alex's dad smiled and shook his head. "But enough about that, he'll be here soon, and he told us not to wait on him, so lets all head inside and catch up a bit."

Alex nodded and smiled back. "Alright, let's go inside." He walked down the walkway, the sound of their feet hitting the metal made a clanking noise as they reached the door, Alex pulled out a small blue card and waved it in front of a device on his door, the house unlocking as it allowed them in.

"Here, come on in guys." He said, walking in and holding the door open for them. As the three walked inside he closed the door, automatically locking from the outside again. "Alright, here we are, feel free to make yourselves comfortable." Alex said as he walked over and sat on the couch.

"What's that delicious smell? Did you order food for the party?" asked Alex's mom.

"No mom, I cooked it." he replied with a smile, obviously proud of his work.

"Well, it seems like you still remember what I taught you. It smells delicious." She smiled and sat down on the couch with everyone else.

"It smells like your cooking Mia." Alex's father got a little comfortable and then joked. "Better keep up or he'll be better than you, I can smell how good it is from here."

"Oh whatever Flint..." She shook her head and smiled.

Flint laughed lightly and smiled. "Oh come on Mia, it was only a joke."

Mia nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Alex's little sister then walked over to him and sat on the couch with a smile on her face, looking up at her older brother. "Alex can I watch a movie?"

"Of course Seerana, let's put something on for you." He smiled and then grabbed the remote, pushing a button to turn on his large television and then cycle through the menu to put on a movie from his digital library.

"Alright, I'm going to go check on the food in the oven so I'll be right back alright?" Alex said, getting up, his gaze toward Mia and Flint.

"Alright Alex." answered Mia, nodding as she watched the movie he had put on.

Alex nodded and then left the living room, making his way to the kitchen. He entered a room with a blue curtain over a window that gave him a lovely view of the ocean. He walked into the main kitchen where he had counters with a clear top that he could easily touch to activate a holographic interface allowing him to adjust settings in his kitchen, change the temperature, listen to music, and lots of different stuff. He simply brushed his fingers over the counter and a hole opened in the ground, an oven coming through the floor and leaning against the wall as he peered in to see if the food was done yet.

As he realized his food was done he touched the interface on the counter and his oven turned off, cooled itself down and then released the pizza that Alex had made, he placed it on the counter and then pushed another button on the interface, closing the oven and watching as it went back down into the floor, before the floor tiles moved back into place.

As Alex walked around the rest of his kitchen, getting the rest of the food ready, he heard a doorbell. Someone was here, but he didn't have time to get it, he figured one of his parents would. As he set out the snacks, beverages, and other various foods, he jumped a bit to feel someone slap him on the back then grab him, holding him as he felt a hand mess his hair.

"Well, well if it isn't little brother making the family food." The voice said before laughing a bit. "How are you doing Alex or should I say, Lieutenant Issac?"

Alex shook his head then turned around to look at his older brother. "Radiant, how are you doing?" He smiled at the sight of him.

"Eh, pretty simple, they held me back in the base for a little bit, kind of boring, I joined cause I wanted some action." Radiant folded his arms and then looked around the counters. "Wow, but I see you cooked me up a meal."

"Well I'm sure we'll both be seeing plenty of action soon, after all today's the last day in Bodhum before they send us off to the mainland to fight the Liberators." Alex was now leaning against the counter, looking at Radiant as he shook his head. "They won't know what hit them with the great Radiant there."

"Alex, you just say that cause you know you can never beat me in a fight, I always take you down in seconds, even since we were kids!" Radiant laughed a bit and shook his head.

"Hey, give me some credit, I lasted a minute last time!" Alex snapped back, trying to make his utter defeat seem less shameful.

"Eh, don't worry about it Alex, you've improved, I've seen it. Still nowhere ready to take me on, but you've improved." Radiant smiled and placed a hand over Alex's shoulder.

"Says the guy who is capable of wielding two gunblades..." Alex then turned to the food and finished a few things. "Well it's great to have everyone here, have one last night together before we get sent off to fight the war."

"Yeah, I know, oh and Alex... We won't be fighting in the same group. They're sending me over to Eden. I heard you were going to Palumpollum, so I'll wish you good luck, it's the least I could do."

"Well it's too bad, but I'm sure we'll both be successful. Good luck to you too tomorrow Radiant, We'll finish this war and then we'll be able to live happily in Bodhum again."

"Of course, don't you go dying on me now Alex." Radiant said with a smirk on his face.

"I won't Radiant... see you when it's over." Alex smiled and watched as his older brother left the room.

The rest of the night was pretty short, while Alex was a bit sad that Radiant couldn't stay because of his duties at the Guardian Corps with planning the assault on Eden, he spent the rest of the night laughing and smiling with Flint, Mia, and Seerana. They watched a movie, talked, caught up on things, and then soon the day was over, Alex's family had left, saying their farewells as they went home. Final hugs were given and with the Fal'cie Phoenix resting, the seaside city of Bodhum had darkened, the gentle oceans hitting the shores, the only light left being the large buildings and homes in the distance and all over Bodhum.

With his place quieted down, being the only person left along with his cat Alex walked to his bedroom, having already cleaned up the kitchen and the food. He went into the bathroom, holding a device in front of his teeth as a light emitted from it, he passed it over his teeth and then turned it off, setting it back in the container he grabbed it from. He then walked out of his bathroom and sat on the edge of the couch, stretching as he laid back, letting out a sigh. "Ahh... "

He smiled and then got up, walking over to his dresser and grabbing his night pants to sleep in. He changed and then laid down on his bed, pulling up the covers over his bare chest as he closed his eyes softly.

He soon felt the bed jump a bit and knew that his cat had come up to sleep next to him. He opened his eyes and looked down with a smile as he pet her fur and watched her nuzzle up in between his legs with a soft purr.

"Good night Mittens..." He closed his eyes then laid back down on his soft pillow, resting his head as he drifted to sleep.